Welcome to the newest space on the internet dedicated to the torturous, complex, confusing, and costly world of American criminal justice. If you’ve ever looked at our “justice” system—the one that leads the world in incarceration rates—and thought, “Surely, this can’t be the best we can do,” then you’re in the right place. We’re kicking…
All Posts: The Ledger
Trump Walks Into a Probation Office
The Deep State Makes Him Fill Out a Form Can you imagine it? Someone on federal supervised release gets invited to the White House to meet President Trump. Not because Trump knows them. Not really. Because the cameras are rolling, the person is useful, and somebody told him it would make a perfect little morality…
Thank You for Your Service. Report to Probation.
Military service may be praised at sentencing. On Monday morning, the veteran becomes another case file. Day 27 of 43 in The Punishment Machine The words may be spoken in the courtroom. ‘Thank you for your service’ is easy to say in an airport. It becomes a more serious sentence when the person being thanked…
The Veterans We Don’t Put in Commercials
America celebrates the uniform more easily than the damaged person who comes home inside it Day 26 of 43 in The Punishment Machine We know which veterans belong in commercials. America likes the veteran in the commercial: uniform pressed, flag moving in the background, music doing its patriotic duty. The veteran who comes home angry,…
Unpublished Orders, Unseen Lives
A few paragraphs can control years of liberty—and disappear into the docket Day 25 of 43 in The Punishment Machine The order may be three pages. A short order can occupy very little space on a docket and a great deal of space in a person’s life. Page count is a poor measure of consequence….
When Discretion Becomes Lawless Power
Judgment is necessary. Power without standards, reasons, or review is something else. Day 24 of 43 in The Punishment Machine No system of justice can operate entirely by formula. Rules cannot anticipate every person. Sentencing tables cannot capture every circumstance. Risk scores cannot measure every change. Written conditions cannot predict every problem that will arise…
The Future Crime Machine
When a prediction about tomorrow becomes punishment today Day 23 of 43 in The Punishment Machine The person has not committed another crime. The system is already preparing for one. A score appears in the file. Prediction has an authority that guesswork never enjoyed. Give uncertainty a score, place it in a box, and suddenly…
Next Week in The Punishment Machine: Risk, Discretion, and Invisible Decisions
Some of the most important judgments are made where the public cannot see them Day 22 of 43 in The Punishment Machine Some of the most important decisions in criminal justice arrive with very little drama. No jury. No television cameras. Sometimes no hearing anyone outside the case will ever notice. A score changes. An…
Week 3 in Review: The Constitution Under Pressure
A right can remain written in law while losing much of its power in practice Day 21 of 43 in The Punishment Machine This week the Constitution stayed on the page while we watched power move around it. The plea form showed how rights can be surrendered under pressure. Prosecutorial power showed how charging and…
The Exit Door Is Jammed
The law provides a way out. It does not always provide a usable path through it. Day 20 of 43 in The Punishment Machine The punishment machine has exit doors. A person can ask the court to modify an unreasonable condition. Supervised release can sometimes end early. An unlawful judgment may be appealed. A conviction…
The Administrative State of Punishment
The judge imposes the sentence. Administrators decide what much of it means. Day 19 of 43 in The Punishment Machine A judge may pronounce a sentence in a few minutes. The person sentenced may spend years discovering what it means. The judgment says to report as directed. An officer decides when, where, and how often….
When the Court Calls Punishment Civil
Constitutional protection may depend upon what the government calls a burden before a court ever examines how much it hurts Day 18 of 43 in The Punishment Machine The legislature writes one word into the statute: Law sometimes performs a neat trick. It asks whether something is punishment after the government has already chosen a…
